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At the time, he was lagging behind his competitors in fundraising and in the polls. And an infusion of so-called matching funds seemed his only hope to keep his campaign afloat.

Now, however, he appears likely to raise more than the $50 million the program would allow his campaign to spend.

Still, McCain requested nearly $700,000 this month in matching funds, which would bring the total he could receive to more than $6.5 million.

Even if McCain decided not to accept the payments, he’d need the FEC to vote to allow him to withdraw from the system.

But a partisan dispute over nominations in the Senate has denied the six-seat panel the four members necessary for a quorum.

“At this point, (McCain) is in the matching fund system. Right now, there is no mechanism for the commission to turn off the spigot,” said Marc Elias, a campaign finance lawyer who represented the aborted presidential campaign of Democrat Chris Dodd.

The Connecticut senator was certified for $1.4 million in matching funds before he dropped out of the race last month.

Additionally, Elias asserted that, even if McCain doesn’t accept the funds, he’d be subject to the program’s spending limits unless the FEC voted to free him.

The law, though, is not entirely clear on the issue.

FEC Chairman David Mason, a Republican, said, “We have some flexibility in addressing the particular situations candidates may find themselves in and – currently – the commission's ability – or inability – to take particular actions. We'll have to address any particular situations when and as they actually occur.”

As long as McCain sends a letter to the FEC asking to withdraw from the program before the funds hit his bank account, he should be OK — even if there’s no quorum to approve it and he subsequently exceeds the spending limit, asserted Paul Ryan, a lawyer with the non-partisan Campaign Legal Center.

Ryan said he “would not be shocked to see the commission when fully reconstituted … exercise its prosecutorial discretion and dismiss any complaint that Sen. McCain or any other candidate has violated the spending limit or other provision of the public financing statute.”

His group, a top advocate for stricter finance rules, was led by Trevor Potter, the general counsel for McCain’s campaign and a former FEC chairman who fought for stricter interpretation of the laws.

Potter has recused himself from group activities related to the 2008 presidential race.

The FEC and courts that have heard public financing cases have stressed the voluntary nature of public financing programs, Ryan pointed out.

“It is difficult to imagine the FEC — an agency with a trackrecord of affording candidates great flexibility when it comes to the public financing laws — going after a candidate in an enforcement action under such circumstances,” he said.

Readers' Comments (99)

hmmm....I guess when you are close to winning the nomination your core principals of limiting the amount of $$$ in elections really doesnt matter that much...heck he changes positions on everything else...why not campaign finance reform

McCain doesn't and won't have the money to compete against the dems in the general. You can criti Romney's wealth all you want but it's needed to take the Dems on. They are loaded.I herad McCain is looking into whether pesos can be contributed to his campaign.

>Let’s return, once again, to McCain’s flourishing flip-flop list, which is now a Top 11 list.all

>* McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell as “an agent of intolerance” in 2002, but has since decided to cozy up to the man who said Americans “deserved” the 9/11 attacks. (Indeed, McCain has now hired Falwell’s debate coach.)

>* McCain used to oppose Bush’s tax cuts for the very wealthy, but he reversed course in February.

>* In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of being corrupt, spending “dirty money” to help finance Bush’s presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out at them publicly. In April, McCain reached out to the Wylys for support.

>* McCain supported a major campaign-finance reform measure that bore his name. In June, he abandoned his own legislation.

>* McCain used to think that Grover Norquist was a crook and a corrupt shill for dictators. Then McCain got serious about running for president and began to reconcile with Norquist.

>* McCain took a firm line in opposition to torture, and then caved to White House demands.

>* McCain gave up on his signature policy issue, campaign-finance reform, and won’t back the same provision he sponsored just a couple of years ago.

>* McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones University before he was for it.

>* McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he’s pro-ethanol.

>* McCain was both for and against state promotion of the Confederate flag.

The winner [of the daily Worst Person in the World] is Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, [who] told us today that he knew that the war in Iraq war was “probably going to be long and hard and tough,” and that he was “sorry” for anybody who voted it thinking it would be “some kind of an easy task.”

Sen. McCain on CNN on Sept. 24, 2002: “I believe that the success will be fairly easy.”

Sen. McCain on CNN on Sept. 29, 2002: “We’re not going to have a bloodletting of trading American bodies for Iraqi bodies.”

Sen. McCain on this network on Jan. 22, 2003: “We will win this conflict. We will win it easily.”

What’s that’s called again? Flip-flopping? Senator, we keep all the tapes of these interviews. C’mon!

“NEW YORK (Reuters) - Recalling his days as a businessman, Republican U.S. presidential contender Mitt Romney often cites the 25 years he spent in the private sector creating jobs,” which apparently isn’t true, writes Michael Flaherty of reuters.com in an analytical discursus titled Private equity past may cloud Romney’s jobs pitch

But as the leader of private equity firm Bain Capital from 1984 to 1999, Romney’s record shows that while some of the firm’s investments helped companies grow, others ended in thousands of layoffs, and in some cases, bankruptcy.

The DNC will eat Mitt for lunch, see below on what the competitor is saying about Gordon Gecko a/k/a Romney. No wonder the polls show Clinton ahead of ROmney by 12 points.

According to a Los Angeles Times investigation of Romney's tenure at Bain Capital, Mitt "utilized shell companies in two offshore tax havens to help eligible investors avoid paying U.S. taxes." Romney steered clients toward tax shelters in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, helping "attract billions of additional investment dollars to Romney's former company, Bain Capital, and thus boosted profits for Romney and his partners." Not only was Romney "listed as a general partner and personally invested in BCIP Associates III Cayman, a private equity fund that is registered at a post office box on Grand Cayman Island," he "still retains an investment in the Cayman fund through a trust." That investment earned Romney "more than $1 million last year in dividends, interest and capital gains." [Los Angeles Times, 12/17/07]

On NBC's Meet the Press yesterday, Romney tried to argue that the $501 million dollars in fee hikes he pushed through in his first year as governor are not taxes because they are not "broad-based" fees like "driver's license fees or automobile fees for registration." True, many of his fee hikes were narrowly targeted toward groups like the blind, the mentally disabled, and gun owners. And Romney's fees made it more expensive to get married or divorced, file a court case, buy a house, or renew a driver's license in the Bay State. [Congress Daily, 8/28/03] No wonder Bay Staters nicknamed Governor Romney "Fee-Fee." [AP, 8/28/07].

Finally, while Romney was attempting to distract from his tax-raising record, he resorted to an all-out lie to distract from his record on gun control issues. Romney told Tim Russert he "received the endorsement of the NRA" during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign. In reality, not only did the National Rifle Association not endorse Romney, it actually gave his Democratic rival a higher rating. [WashingtonPost.com, 12/16/07]

"Considering his tax-raising record and the millions he made steering clients toward offshore tax shelters, it's no surprise smooth talking Mitt Romney is so desperate to convince voters to ignore his history," said Democrat National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera. "Mitt Romney may be running for flip-flipper in chief, but if he expects the voters to trust him to lead our country, he should respect them enough to be straightforward about his real record."

He's So Bain: Mitt Makes Millions on Offshore Tax Shelters Taxes...

Romney and His Bain Colleagues Made a Mint Steering Corporate Clients to Offshore Tax Shelters. "While in private business, Mitt Romney utilized shell companies in two offshore tax havens to help eligible investors avoid paying U.S. taxes, federal and state records show.Romney gained no personal tax benefit from the legal operations in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. But aides to the Republican presidential hopeful and former colleagues acknowledged that the tax-friendly jurisdictions helped attract billions of additional investment dollars to Romney's former company, Bain Capital, and thus boosted profits for Romney and his partners." [Los Angeles Times, 12/17/07]

Romney Still Profiting from Offshore Shelters. "In the Cayman Islands, Romney was listed as a general partner and personally invested in BCIP Associates III Cayman, a private equity fund that is registered at a post office box on Grand Cayman Island and that indirectly buys equity in U.S. companies. The arrangement shields foreign investors from U.S. taxes they would pay for investing in U.S. companies. Romney still retains an investment in the Cayman fund through a trust. Campaign disclosure forms show the investment paid him more than $1 million last year in dividends, interest and capital gains." [Los Angeles Times, 12/17/07]

Romney Financial Advisor INCREASING Mitt's Offshore Investments. "His financial trust retains investments in at least 32 Bain and Sankaty equity, hedge and debt funds, among other assets, the documents disclosed. Under his retirement agreement, Romney retains a share of the profits at Bain Capital, as well as the right to make new investments in Bain funds through his trust, until February 2009. Malt said he had repeatedly increased Romney's stake in the Cayman fund since 2003. He said he was unaware of the specific figures, but added that he knew he 'wrote a lot of checks,' and that it paid a return of 20% to 30% a year." [Los Angeles Times, 12/17/07]

Romney Showed Indifference to Human Impact of His Decisions. "Some of Romney's colleagues recall him as vain, however, and focused only on the bottom line. They saw him as impatient and unconcerned about those affected by his decisions." [Los Angeles Times, 12/16/07]

* Bain Reaped $100 Million While Hundreds Lost Jobs and Ampad Went Bankrupt. In 1992, Bain Capital invested $5 million towards the purchase of American Pad & Paper (Ampad) from Mead Corp., which, at the time, was only $11.3 million in debt with sales of $106.7 million. Over the next 8 years, under Bain management Ampad had gone public, made several acquisitions, and made over $100 million in payouts to Bain and to its investors. By 1999, two American plants were closed, 385 Ampad workers were laid off, the company was $392 million in debt, sales were slipping, and, the next year, its creditors forced Ampad into bankruptcy. [Securities and Exchange Commission Filings, Boston Globe, 6/26/07]

Ronald Krongold is one wavering local Republican Jew who said Lieberman's appeal helped pull him towards McCain, though he was still undecided over the weekend. He said he always like McCain, but that he was particularly impressed when Lieberman came out for him.

"When Lieberman came out and endorsed him, that meant a lot because I think he's a really honest and when it comes to really important decision … he makes decisions that are best for the country," he said. A couple of Jewish voters said that if McCain would put Lieberman on the ticket as his running mate, they would be won over.

I always wondered why anyone would check that box on their tax returns to give money to this sort of campaign funding. You don't know who will be getting your $3! Why not just contribute to your preferred candidate?

This article just clenches it for me -- I'll never check that box and give any more of my money to the government than what is absolutely necessary and legal. Especially since it's Edwards and maybe McCain that will benefit this time around! Guh, if I had given money to that fund I would be blowing chunks right about now.